Horse barns need not be huge, ornate or made of costly materials. A basic shelter can keep your horses quite comfortable. Knowing build a basic two-horse barn can be a huge help to any horse owner. It can be as simple or as fancy as you like; the basic design will be roughly the same.
Instructions
Marking Your Ground
1. Choose a level spot that is well drained and measure out your barn using your measuring tape. You will need a 4-by-4 corner post every 12 feet minimum, so mark these first with your spray paint. Use the string to make sure your lines are straight from post to post. Dig holes for your corner posts, mix your cement, set your corner posts in the holes and allow them to set for at least 72 hours. Your holes should be a minimum of 24 inches deep. This is the time when you will also measure your stalls and set posts for them as well, following the same instructions as you did for the walls of your barn. Be sure to measure and set posts for your main door to the barn as well.
2. Create a frame with your 2-by-4's. You need a ground slat, a middle slat and a ceiling slat. Hammer these into your corner posts. Use your level to make sure they are straight. You may choose to simply fill in your frame with lumber, or you can fill in the walls with siding once you have your framework up. You will create a frame of your stalls using these same steps, although for the stalls, you want to use lumber rather than siding. Horses can and will kick through siding and seriously injure themselves. Frame in your doorway using the 2-by-4's. When you are done with this step, you should have a bare-bones framework of your barn that will need to be filled in.
3. Create a roofing frame using 2-by-4 slats. Make sure you space these no more than 12 inches apart, as your roof must be very sturdy to maintain structural integrity. These will be attached to the ceiling slats (the top-level 2-by-4's) of your original frame, running across the width of the structure, and should be secured with regular nails. Roofing nails will be used on the siding you use for roofing material, and make sure you overlap the siding by several inches to encourage water run-off.
4. Hang the doors of your stalls and your entryway, making sure they are level and plumb before securing them with hardware. If you have used lumber for your entire barn, you will want to paint it with a weather-resistant paint. Metal or plastic siding does not need to be painted.
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